Over and out from Kappahl Shanghai

And so the final week at Kappahls’ production office is over. It feels like it was yesterday i first entered the office curious about what the following weeks would be like. These weeks have been incredibly fun, educational and inspiring, including work in the office and visits to port, suppliers and factories. I also got to join their yearly outing where we went ot an island outside of Shanghai for two days of teambuilding activities, see picture. My goal for this internship was to get deeper understanding of the role of a production office and the work they do, and my expectations have not only been met but also exceeded!

At this point I’m focusing full time on the report in which I investigate how local production offices in China affect the purchasing process for Swedish fast fashion brands. After participating in the daily work, I have seen myself how closely the merchandisers, technicians etc. work both with the buyers in Sweden and the suppliers. Further I have interviewed four employees at the office, of which all brought up the importance of having good relations with the suppliers, as this will benefit product quality, price and speed of the purchasing process. Thanks to the production office it’s possible to meet physically with the suppliers more often, which is good for the relation and for problem solving. They also highlight knowing the culture and the language as important factors for building supplier relations. Their opinion is that these points would be very hard to fulfill without the local production office. More about this is to be found in my report!

All the best!

Sofia